The Grand Court has dismissed a judicial review against RCIPS Commissioner of Police Derek Byrne, which alleged unlawful promotional practices within the police service.
The legal action was taken by sergeants Sharon Lewis and Antonio Hanna, who according to court documents, both passed a promotional exam for the rank of inspector in 2007, but at the time of the filing of the case, in March 2021, some 14 years later, neither had been promoted.
According to court documents, no promotional boards were convened between Byrne’s appointment as Commissioner in November 2016 and the time of the case filing. The last promotional board is said to have been held in October 2015.
At the heart of the judicial review was a question of whether the police commissioner was required by law to convene a promotion board and, if so, had his failure to convene one resulted in him acting illegally?
The judicial review was based on three grounds. The first argued that the police commissioner breached a statutory duty under the police law which requires him to convene a promotion board, in line with a promotion policy set out in Sections 6 and 8 (2) of the Police Act.
The second ground alleged that by “excessively using acting-up positions” instead of promoting officers to higher ranks, the commissioner’s decisions amounted to unlawful administrative actions.
The final ground argued there had been a breach of the petitioners’ human rights by the commissioner, specifically Sections 19 and 24, which deal with lawful administrative actions and the duty of public officials, respectively.
When the matter was filed, the RCIPS Association, which is the third and final petitioner in the lawsuit, released a statement claiming that 57 constables had passed the promotion-to-sergeant examination, and 16 sergeants had passed the promotion-to-inspector examination – all of whom were awaiting an opportunity to be interviewed by the promotion board.
In response to the petitioners’ allegations, the commissioner’s legal team acknowledged that both Lewis and Hanna had passed their promotion exams.
However, they argued that both officers were “unsuccessful” in their “endeavour to move to the ranks of Inspector”.
The commissioner’s legal team stated that officers Lewis and Hanna had had the opportunity over the 14-year stretch to apply for “acting-up” positions but chose not to, and, therefore, “it was not that they had been denied the chance to perform at that higher level in the service”.
When returning her judgment, Justice Marlene Carter, who presided over the matter, stated that she understood the constitutional importance of the need for public officials to act in a lawful and rational manner and she could not find any evidence to suggest this was not the case.
When dismissing all the grounds, Carter said, “In this case, there is nothing that has been presented to this court to conclude that the [Commissioner of Police] has acted out with the bounds of lawful administrative action.”
In response to the legal challenge, the police commissioner requested that the courts order the officers and the police association to pay for his legal expenses if the matter was dismissed. Although the courts ruled in favour of the commissioner by dismissing the case, no cost orders were made.
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It was a relief to read that the court agreed that lawful practice was administered, Commissioner Byrne is carrying out his duties very commendably.
We remain grateful to the RCIPS for their brave efforts, and are proud of the force.